Fine art show is club's 'gift' to Mason County

Sharon Brocha’s acrylic painting “Fall Color” won first place in its category at the Peninsula Art Association’s Fine Art Show in 2016. This year’s event will take place April 30 to May 5 at the Shelton Civic Center.(Photo: Arla Shephard Bull / Mason County Life)

For Pat Denney, one of the best parts about being an artist is having the opportunity to share work with the world.

“I stress that art isn’t art until you share it,” said Denney, president of the Shelton-based Peninsula Art Association. “Any chance you can get youngsters or people who have just dabbled in art to enter a show, to be open and brave to share what they do, it’s a great thing.”

The Peninsula Art Association plans to present its 28th annual fine art show this spring, from Monday, April 30, to Saturday, May 5, at the Shelton Civic Center in Shelton.
The public will have the opportunity to browse more than 100 entries in six categories: oil and acrylic painting; watercolor, gouache, inks and hand-pulled prints; pastel, colored pencil, charcoal and graphite; photography; three-dimensional works; and mixed works, such as collages and mosaics. The event is free.

“As Mason County’s only art club, we consider this a gift to the community,” Denney said. “We’re not in it to make money. It’s six days that give the community a chance to come in at no cost and be able to enjoy art.”

Artists will have the opportunity to enter their work from 1 to 4 p.m., Friday, April 27, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, April 28, at the Shelton Civic Center. The cost to enter is $10 per entry for current members of the Peninsula Art Association and $15 to enter for non-members.

Entry forms can be found at Off the Walls Gallery or by emailing art4jora@hctc.com. Artists must submit their work following the artists’ guidelines on the entry form.

For example, all entries must be original and not have been shown before, the maximum size of hanging works must be 1,200 square inches, all hanging works must have wire hangers, and two-dimensional works must be framed.

The artist can also only submit two entries per category for a maximum of six entries.
“We try to make it attractive for first-time entries to put people at ease,” Denney said.

“Last year we had 130 entries and many newcomers. Unfortunately, last time we had problems with people not following all of the rules and forgetting to frame or mount their work properly.”

The show will be judged by an artist from out of the area who is qualified in all mediums.

Prizes will be awarded at a Cinco de Mayo-themed artists reception, from noon to 2 p.m., Saturday, May 5. First, second and third place in each category will receive monetary awards ($100, $75 and $50), and Best of Show will receive $300.

A People’s Choice winner will be awarded a gift basket with certificates from local businesses.

Denney, an artist who works on acrylic painting, mixed media and steelwork (“I took up welding at 70 so I wouldn’t have to learn how to knit,” she said), won second place last year in the mixed media category.

“For us artists, we feed off each other’s talent,” she said. “After the art show, we get fueled up on each other’s creations. It helps us bounce off ideas. We all have different interests and different abilities. We help each other and it becomes a symbiotic thing.”

The Peninsula Art Association meets at 1 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month at the Shelton Civic Center, except during the summer. Meetings include an artists' show and tell, a presentation from a guest artist and information and networking about local shows.

The annual dues for the Peninsula Art Association are $25 for an individual and $30 for a family. Checks can be mailed to Peninsula Art Association, PO Box 11, Shelton, WA, 98584.

Artists entering the fine art show do not need to be members of the Peninsula Art Association.